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James Webb Space Telescope directly images its coldest exoplanet target yet
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have investigated a new “super-Jupiter” planet that is one of the coldest worlds ever seen outside the solar system. The extrasolar planet or “exoplanet” is located in the triple star system Epsilon Indi, which sits around 12 light-years away. The planet is designated Eps Ind Ab and…
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Sun-like stars seen orbiting hidden neutron stars
<a href="https://physicsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/24-7-24-Sun-like-star-and-neutron-star.jpg" data-fancybox data-src="https://physicsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/24-7-24-Sun-like-star-and-neutron-star.jpg" data-caption="Survivors Artist’s impression of a Sun-like star (upper left) orbiting a neutron star, with no mass being transferred between the two. The figure also illustrates how the neutron star’s gravity distorts nearby space–time, creating a mirror image of the Sun-like star. (Courtesy: Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC))”> Survivors Artist’s impression of a Sun-like…
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‘Double’ meteor shower will light up the skies next week. Here’s how to watch.
Stargazers will soon be able to witness a “double” meteor shower as both the Alpha Capricornids and the Southern Delta Aquariids peak next week. The twin-skywatching event is “just an amazing coincidence,” Nicholas Moskovitz, a planetary astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, told Live Science. Meteor showers occur when Earth’s orbit intersects a comet’s path.…
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Nehru Planetarium set for revamp, India’s space achievements to take centre stage
Nehru Planetarium is getting ready for a revamp by the year end, with its gallery set to feature by 2025 new interactive screens focusing on India’s latest space missions and developments in the field of astronomy. The Capital’s sole planetarium located on Teen Murti Marg was opened to the public in 1984. Over the years, space…
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Astronomers are scrambling to save the world’s most powerful X-ray space telescope
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the mission released 25 views of cosmic objects ranging from supernova remnants to galaxy clusters and more. NASA/SAO/CXC NASA/SAO/CXC The most powerful X-ray telescope ever built has reached its landmark 25th anniversary in space — but back on Earth, astronomers worry that…
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Eileen Collins burst through the glass ceiling aboard the space shuttle
Eileen Collins, mission commander, looks over a checklist on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1999. Credit: NASA. Twenty-five years ago, Eileen Collins became the first woman to command a spaceflight. A test pilot, mathematician and trailblazer, this soft-spoken Air Force Colonel helmed Space Shuttle Columbia when it roared into Florida’s post-midnight darkness on July 23,…
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Is the James Webb Space Telescope really ‘breaking’ cosmology?
Not long after the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) began its science operations, astronomers announced that they had discovered galaxies in the early universe that were far too large, bright and full of stars for their age. While headlines around the world claimed that these galaxies were “breaking” our understanding of the Big Bang, the…
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Out of this world space photos shortlisted in Astronomy Photography of the Year 2024
Total Solar Eclipse by Gwenaël Blanck. © Gwenaël Blanck Clarissa Wright 20/07/2024 17:00 6 min Royal Museums Greenwich (RMG) announced their shortlist recently for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year – the biggest space photography competition on Earth. Here we curate some highlights from the 2024 shortlist for you to enjoy, with photos taken all…
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The future of space exploration: How astronomy, space travel and the search for life may change by 2049 (video)
Celebrating 25 years of covering countless advancements in space exploration and astronomy, Space.com hosted a live virtual panel to discuss some of the most impactful discoveries and what may still be yet to come. Joining Space.com’s Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik, who moderated the discussion, were three panelists, including Dr. Sara Seager, an astrophysicist and professor at…
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Can the James Webb Space Telescope see galaxies over the universe’s horizon?
Since it began sending data back to Earth in 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has greatly impacted astronomy, and one of its most revolutionary achievements is the observation of some of the most distant galaxies ever seen. However, because light doesn’t travel instantly — but rather moves at about 300 million meters (985 million…